Creating Adventure - June 2024
Words of Wyrom
Greetings, friendos. With Creating Adventure finally taking shape with a specific schedule alongside State of Elanthia, I feel like this announcement entry finally has a better purpose. I know I've been doing this for awhile now, but I've always struggled with where to take it. Do I do them quarterly? Do I do them as a Year-in-Review? Silly stuff to worry about, but it always weighed down on my thoughts. Creating Adventure is now our roadmap announcement list with just what we're working on currently or soon. We get into a bad grind of overpromising and underdelivering just due to the passage of time screwing with everything. But the plan is to make sure what you see is being actively worked on with backup plans when things take an unexpected turn.
The Path Unseen
My time this year has been dedicated to building better infrastructure, which means I've not been very visible. There is a lot of background work that needs to get done, and it gets neglected a whole lot due to it not being very fun or in the spotlight. Most of the stuff is with longevity in mind, so the initial impact isn't even something you might see for awhile. We've been working on better tools to be able to see subscription status from within the game so we can offer better rewards. Some of this is to be announced at a later time but it's exciting stuff to be able to offer. It just came with a lot of work to get to this point.
With that said, there have been a lot of behind the scenes work going on that I'd like to share. Some of this was announced over in DragonRealms already, but it's still not all ready, hence me waiting for our June release.
64-Bit Upgrade
Our games (GemStone IV, DragonRealms, and our older IFE titles Modus Operandi and Alliance of Heroes) have all been on a 32-bit system, with signed integers ranging from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647. When the games were created, that was amazing, but numbers have gotten really big, and we have had to limit development in a lot of areas due to it. We're been running up against this wall quite a bit lately and there really isn't a way forward without changing everything. The plan was to introduced unsigned limited to double up in areas where we don't need to go negatively, like with time, but that just kicks the can down the road.
This has been a project for one of our onsite engineers who returned to Simutronics late last year as a contractor and resumed full time work in 2024. Our plan is to have the first phase on the Test server this summer. This is likely going to be a long testing period before this is ready to be in the live games and we will need quite a bit of testing from both players and staff when the time comes.
Once this makes it to the live games, it will take some time to update systems to make use of it, so it won't be an instant on thing for a good chunk of our scripts. We will prioritize areas once we're in the clear though.
New Biller
If you've been here awhile, you likely know a lot of our website has been kneecapped due to our billing system. When Simutronics moved to the web back in Jurassic era, there were no out of the box solutions to how to bill customers. Simutronics did everything in house, and they were very proud of what they managed. Unfortunately, time marched on and we didn't. This has limited aspects of the website to how it worked with account verifications, such as the forums or even the front page news. On top of that, PCI compliance soaks up a ton of onsite's time to make sure everything is following all the rules and regulations. But soon we will be working with a third-party to handle all this. They are currently working to migrate everything we have over. This will free up a lot of time and it will hopefully make things easier for you with account management. ETA on this I believe is October, but it will definitely be before the end of the year. The sooner we can cross this off the list the better, because...
Website and Logo
Once we get there, our dinosaur (notice a theme?) of a website will get a much needed facelift. Mostly with how it looks, but in time we plan to add even more features and do a better job on how we announce everything. This is getting a bit ahead, because it does require the billing migration first and then we will see what all is needed to finally break away from everything that was connected to the old way. Might be something we just set on fire.
Our logo will also be getting a redesign too. Nothing I can share right now, but once we have a direction, I'll be sure to show it off on Discord.
New GameMaster Training
We had a pretty big class get hired. We started with 13 new GameMasters. We're currently at 11, but we also had 2 former GameMasters return to us. The GameMaster list is current.
With this hire, I introduced a fast track for GSL (our programming language) to get everyone who wanted to try this new way out. We had a lot of success with it and as you may see, quite a few of the new GMs have released some updates. It's not quite polished and it probably needs some more structure, but it was great to get new coders up and running so quickly. GSL can be a bit of a slog, and we usually don't see meaningful projects for 6 months to over a year. It was a lot of work, I had the insane idea to start this during Duskruin in February, but we got to add a lot of talent to the teams. This class just passed their 6 month anniversary.
Bug Closeouts
Part of this new GSL training was we focused on bug reports a bit more than we usually do. Part of GSL is finding a bug to tackle. But this class knocked out hundreds, a good bunch being duplicates, but they still need to be investigated and such. We still have a few in training that are going to continue to knock out more bugs! Keep an eye on the announcements and endnotes on Discord as we continue to work through the backlogs here.
Looking Forward
With the BTS talked about, let's dive into what's to come that are more in the spotlight of the live games. The road ahead is always a challenge to make sure we have a healthy balance of projects you might know about with old projects that you wanted finished that never happened. I think we have some pretty great stuff planned for 2024.
Combat and Magic Systems
We are concentrating on some of our old projects that have been talked about. I know some stuff might not be known that is being worked on, but we've been plugging away and have the following project list in the works.
- Battle Standard (1620): Designed, coded, currently in testing on the Test server, and in QC. Once it clears QC, it'll be released.
- Covert Arts (Rogue service): Designed and mostly coded. Hoping to have it on the Test server this summer.
- Gemstones: Base system is designed and coded. Individual gemstone properties are being designed and coded now. We'll likely start with an initial batch of gemstones, then add more over time. As such, we hope to have it available for testing soon too.
- Bloodstone Jewelry (1135): Designed and coding is starting up.
- Sorcerer Review: Currently a work in progress, but it requires creating a lot of new logic/systems to utilize the design we lined out. However, it's also our goal to release the updated spells as they completed instead of waiting for everything to be completed and released at the same time.
Feeder Overhaul
I may have spilled the beans about a treasure review being a multi-phased release. The feeders have been a bit lackluster overall, and we were missing a lot of modern approaches to distributing loot that meets expectations. The feeder overhaul represents about four of those phases we want to complete. This is actually a bigger change that needs a lot more details, so be on the look out for that REAL SOON NOW!
High Touch Engagement
It should come at no surprise that we have been working hard at keeping the world very active and alive with lore and storytelling. We don't plan to slow down, but I wanted to share some of the data with everyone.
Our Daily Average Users (DAU) have gone up roughly 150 accounts since November 2023. Our Monthly Active Users (MAU) have gone up over 300 since the same timeframe. Average session times, excluding those with session times that are for login rewards or short with little to no gameplay or the never log off type, are up from less than 2 hours to nearly 3 and a half hours. Total session times across all users last month was 361,000 hours (this does include everything outside staff hours).
These numbers are all up, though our highest numbers in the last 10 years still come from the lockdowns. We are up over 50% still since before March 2020. Retention on our last promo was also some of the highest we've seen, percentage wise. The plan after a lot of the stuff mentioned about the billing systems, website, etc is to have a more improved promotion system that allows for much more flexibility.
Wisdom of the Ages
Remember that whole checking subscription status from within game? One of our first plans is to give something for sticking with us! And that is a new perk called Wisdom of the Ages. This will be beyond Premium and Platinum Points, this will be with our paid subscriptions of any tier. It will be something that if you keep your account in good standing and continuously active, you'll keep gaining a whole new...experience.
Year in Review
We may have missed a few announcements in our Changelog, but check out (most of) our updates in 2023 and 2024!
| Release Date | Category | Project | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2023 | Development | Spell Disabler Review release begins | Updates to a great many disabling spells have begun to roll out. Catch up on the details and discussion on Discord. |
| 12/29/2023 | World | Mist Harbor Sorcerer Guild | The Mist Harbor Sorcerer's Guild opens in the Eastern Harbor. |
| 12/23/2023 | World | Thrakmas | A lore document on a Wehnimer's Landing tradition called Thrakmas |
| 12/17/2023 | World | Premium Trove | The Premium Trove was rolled out, with an opening slate of bard sonics and ranger animal companion grooming. |
| 12/16/2023 | Development | The Hive | The Hive, a post-cap Ascension hunting ground, is released in Zul Logoth. |
| 12/16/2023 | Development | Stormpeak | Stormpeak, a multi-level hunting ground, is released in Zul Logoth. |
| 12/6/2023 | World | Mist Harbor Forging | Forging can now be performed at the forges located in Mist Harbor. |
| 12/01/2023 | World | Kindred Games | The Kindred Games are open from 12/1 to 12/3. |
| 11/24/2023 | World | Lore Release: The Principality of Evashir | A history document regarding the dark elves |
| 11/21/2023 | Development | Mount Travel Town Update | You can now use MOUNT TRAVEL TOWN to reach Nielira's Harbor. |
| 11/11/2023 | Development | OSA White Flag Changes | Raising your WHITE FLAG with SHIP FLAG WHITE will now prevent enemy boats from spawning on you. |
| 11/11/2023 | World | Zul Logoth Tobacconist | After a successful trade negotiation with Icemule Trace for coldleaf tobacco Zul Logoth has finally opened its own Tobacconist! |
| 10/26/2023 | World | A Dark Elf Fairy Tale | A fairy tale told by the Draugr in Naidem, originating with the dark elves |
| 10/25/2023 | World | Weaving Awls Now Support Plumes | The weaving tool awls now also support plumes. Previously, they only worked with feathers. |
| 10/19/2023 | Development | Disguise Elixir Item & Shroud of Deception Fixes | Some behind-the-scenes updates have been applied to ensure that those utilizing Disguise Elixir items (or similar) will be as convincingly disguised as those utilizing Shroud of Deception already are. Also, the spell Shroud of Deception (1212) has been updated so that it will not be applied if another similar disguise is already in effect. |
| 09/29/2023 | Event | Ebon Gate Festival | Naidem opens from 9/29 to 10/31. |
| 09/28/2023 | World | Mycelium Cave in Zul Logoth | Thought to have been lost many decades ago a shrine to Imaera is rediscovered. |
| 09/26/2023 | World | Nalfein Cultural Verb options: PEDAL, OBSERVE, EXPRESS | Nalfein cultural options for perceived elves and half-elves have been added to the PEDAL, OBSERVE, and EXPRESS verbs, with EXPRESS receiving style options for APPROVAL, CALM, CHARM, and DISPLEASURE. These verbs can be used alone or with self, player, creature, or object targets. |
| 09/20/2023 | Development | Bugfix Martial Stances & Shield Mind cooldown | A bug related to Martial Stances and Shield Mind cooldowns has been fixed. These abilities should interact properly now. |
| 09/20/2023 | World | Lore Release - Ta'Illistim Inquisitors | Released new lore on the Index of Inquisitors |
| 09/17/2023 | World | Drakewood and Gu'hran Release | Lore release for Drakewood, a new Dhe'nar wood and the Gu'hran, a new Dhe'nar instrument. |
| 09/16/2023 | World | Ta'Illistim Braesella's Bakery Updated | Braesella updated her wares |
| 09/16/2023 | World | Ta'Illistim Museum Grand Reopening | Added new displays, areas, and loresongs |
| 09/16/2023 | World | Citizenship Title Updates | Added citizenship-based titles |
| 08/22/2023 | World | Citizenship Pin Updates | Added new verb traps, etc. to citizenship pins. |
| 08/10/2023 | Development | CUSTOM updates for bolt spells and fireworks | Added bolt spells and fireworks to the CUSTOM system. |
| 08/08/2023 | World | Lore Release: Burghal Gnome Mourning | Burghal gnome mourning customs document |
| 07/28/2023 | World | What's New in Kharam Dzu? | Release of Clan Hall updates, Bric-a-brac fishing dock, and Borthuum Bargain Bait fishing supply shop. |
| 07/25/2023 | Development | Player Shops now allow temporary loresong unlocked items to stack | Otherwise identical items with temporary loresong unlocks will now stack when placed for sale in a player shop. |
| 07/25/2023 | Development | Scripted Item Benefits Identified (RECALL) | A variety of existing scripted items now provide details instead of generic "some unknown (scripted) benefit" when using RECALL |
| 07/24/2023 | World | Hot Summer Nights Release: Grounded | Slips for sale in the Lighthouse allowing players to anchor/ground their own transporters |
| 07/21/2023 | World | Dragonfly Festival | Open in Cysaegir from 7/21 to 7/23. |
| 07/21/2023 | World | Hot Summer Nights Release: Premium Spell of the Month Update | Updated PSotM |
| 07/20/2023 | World | Lore Release: Aelotoi Mourning | Aelotoi mourning customs document |
| 07/19/2023 | World | Hot Summer Nights Release: Transporter Messaging | New Messaging Options |
| 07/19/2023 | World | Lore Release: Cyrtae'ni | New aelotoi culture |
| 07/11/2023 | World | Guide Updates Urchin Guide Updates | Urchin Guides learn new tricks and expand their offerings. |
| 07/11/2023 | World | Lukewarm Summer Update: PREMIUMHALL Urchin Destination | Urchin system now has a new PREMIUMHALL destination in each town |
| 07/10/2023 | World | Hot Summer Nights Release: Premium Points for Profession Points | 25 Premium Points for up to 25k Profession Points |
| 07/06/2023 | World | Hot Summer Nights Release: Urchins | 5 free uses of the Urchin system for Premium Subscribers
|
| 07/05/2023 | World | Additional Tones and Speech Verbs | Additional tones and speech verbs are now available for use with the SAY verb |
| 07/02/2023 | World | Lukewarm Summer Update: Paddleboat RT Removed | RT Removed from FWI Paddleboats |
| 07/02/2023 | World | Hot Summer Nights Release: EXPRESS Verbs | New EXPRESS options for Premium Subscribers |
| 07/01/2023 | World | Hot Summer Nights Release: Adventurer's Guild Cooldown | 10 minute cooldown for Premium Subscribers |
| 06/25/2023 | Development | Justice System - Possession Removal | The Justice system will no longer strip you of your possessions during incarceration. |
| 06/16/2023 | Event | Rumor Woods | Open from 6/16 through 6/30. |
| 06/16/2023 | Development | CONSENT verb | Added the CONSENT verb |
| 06/13/2023 | Development | Familiar Gate (930) | Now works from inside the Rift to the Cavern of Ages |
| 06/12/2023 | World | Lore Release: Gastronomy of Atan Irith | Cuisine found in Atan Irith |
| 06/12/2023 | World | Lore Release: Precious Materials of Atan Irith | Unique materials found in Atan Irith |
| 06/09/2023 | Development | CUSTOM updates | Added Manna and Major Sanctuary to the new CUSTOM system. |
| 05/28/2023 | World | Lore Release: Ta'Nalfein | Expanded Ta'Nalfein Information |
| 05/26/2023 | Event | Premium Fest: Return to Iyo Grove | Open from 5/26 through 6/1. |
| 05/24/2023 | World | Lore Release: Human Mourning Part 2 | Human cultures (A-H) and mourning |
| 05/20/2023 | World | Death in Dwarven Culture - Burial Practices | Detailing some burial customs of the dwarves. |
| 05/20/2023 | World | Stonetomb Opens to the Public | Today Clan Leader Rodverg announced the opening of Stonetomb, Zul Logoth's cemetary, to the general public. Stonetomb can be found in the Onyx Tunnel which is through the arch found one west of the Warrior's Guild. |
| 05/19/2023 | Development | Effect Manager: New Effects | New Clumsy, Wounded, and Major Poison effects have been added. |
| 05/19/2023 | Development | Stealth Updates | Group and Stealth QoL improvements. |
| 05/19/2023 | Development | Divine Word (1640) Update | Divine Word (1640) has been updated to no longer remove spells when its active window ends. |
| 05/8/2023 | World | PROPERTY Verb released | The PROPERTY verb allows individuals who own private properties to view and change certain information about their private properties. |
| 05/07/2023 | Development | Justice Encumbrance | Encumbrance checks are now bypassed for justice confiscated possessions. |
| 05/01/2023 | World | Flight of the Griffins | The annual spring flight of the griffins around Ta'Illistim, from 5/1 through 5/6. |
| 04/23/2023 | Development | Adventurers Guild Update | The Adventurers Guild has decided to allow those banished from tasks to now be allowed to continue to use RECOVER and LOST during their punishment. |
| 04/14/2023 | Event | Rings of Lumnis | Open from 4/14 through 4/30. |
| 04/04/2023 | Development | Transit Review Update Rift fog exit | After a small shadowy rebellion, once again the Rift entrance Fog is somewhat under control. It's been reported that entering the Rift is now insanely smooth and efficient! |
| 04/09/2023 | World | Lore Document: A Brief History of Khan'Kel Bazaar | A lore document on the Khan'Kel Bazaar in River's Rest |
| 03/31/2023 | Development | Locker Updates and Family Vaults | Increased locker storage and a new account-wide locker! |
| 03/28/2023 | World | Lore Document: Dark Elves, Faendryl | A lore document on the cuisine of the Faendryl |
| 03/25/2023 | World | Ta'illistim Armory and Weaponry Updated Stock | The Armory and Weaponry in Ta'Illistim have updated their stock with a wider variety of wares. The UCS gear has been moved to the Weaponry. |
| 03/25/2023 | World | Lore Document: Atan Irith Fauna | A lore document on unique fauna of Atan Irith |
| 03/24/2023 | World | Funeral Customs of the Elven Houses | New lore document about the funeral customs in the elven houses. |
| 03/21/202 | World | Kharam Dzu Shop Update - Armory | Updates to the inventory in this shop. |
| 03/21/202 | World | Kharam Dzu Shop Update - Weaponry | Updates to the inventory in this shop. |
| 03/19/2023 | World | Harbor's Harvest opens in Mist Harbor! | Harbor's Harvest grocery store opens in Mist Harbor. |
| 03/18/202 | World | Kharam Dzu Shop Update - Clerical Supply | Updates to the inventory in this shop. |
| 03/14/2023 | Development | Cavernhold trap no longer takes items. | The trap in cavernhold that would throw you in the dungeon and take items away no longer takes away items. The wardens have already filed a complaint. |
| 03/09/2023 | World | Year of the Rolton: PRANCE movement verb | A new movement verb, PRANCE, for the Year of the Rolton! |
| 03/08/2023 | World | Lore Document: Ta'Loenthra | A lore document on the elven city-state of Ta'Loenthra |
| 03/06/202 | World | Kharam Dzu Shop Update - Locks Picked & Lockpicks | Updates to the inventory in this shop. |
| 03/01/2023 | World | Lore Document: Human Mourning | A lore document on how the human empire handles mourning for royalty |
| 03/01/2023 | World | Lore Document: County Torre Succession | A new lore document on how the County of Torre handles leadership succession |
| 02/17/2023 | World | Year of the Rolton: BLEAT verb | New BLEAT verb and IMITATE BLEAT options |
| 02/14/2023 | World | Cobbling Tanner Improvements | Cobbling tanners have increased their speed, their cost, and the range of items they can process into cobbling trim! |
| 02/12/2023 | Development | OSA Bounty Boards are now at most handlers. | The boards used to get tasks are now available at almost all towns at the handler. |
| 02/10/2023 | Event | Duskruin Arena | Open 2/10/2023 through 2/28/2023 |
| 02/10/2023 | World | Lore Document - Atan Irith Flora | New lore document on flora in Atan Irith |
| 02/06/2023 | World | Lore Document - Sylvan Mourning | New lore document on how sylvans deal with death |
| 01/25/2023 | Development | Fortuitous February | For the entire month of February, base experience gain is increased by 20%! |
| 01/25/2023 | Development | Divergence | The update to remove Divergence and make live some of its changes live is now implemented. Please review the Discord forum post for the full details. In addition, the grouping logic that would apply to some groups when determining if they reached the treasure cap has been removed. |
| 01/16/2023 | World | Lore Document - Forest Gnomes & Death | New lore document on how forest gnome cultures deal with death was released. |
| 01/14/2023 | World | Zul Logoth Merchant Complex | 8 new shops. |
| 01/12/2023 | World | New Silverwood Manor Location | Silverwood Manor has opened a new Zul Logoth location |
| 01/11/2023 | World | Lore Document - Inyexi | New lore documents and forest gnome culture were released |
| 01/07/2023 | Development | RECALL updates | RECALL has been updated on bard-sung items to now retrieve the details without being pushed out of hiding. Unless the item is NOT unlocked, even temporarily, and the hidden person is a Bard. |
| 01/05/2023 | World | Lore Document on the Atoll | A new lore document was released, The Legend of Tavekta Atoll, detailing some stories behind the Kraken's Fall hunting area known as the Atoll. |
| 01/04/2023 | Development | Feat: Dispel Magic | Feat: Dispel Magic has been updated to only remove negative magical effects. Due to how his worked before vs. now, this may inadvertently cause some previously dispellable negative effects to no longer be removed. If you encounter this, please BUG those effects and we'll get them fixed so they are removed again. |
| 01/03/2023 | Development | The Reim Vault is now open again! | The Reim Vault is now open again. The contents have been restocked with the previous offerings minus a few things. |
| 01/02/2023 | World | New Lore Document Released: A Brief Examination of the Yierka | A Brief Examination of the Yierka goes into some detail about the large desert lizards native to the Sea of Fire. |
| 01/01/2023 | Development | Major Mental and Savant Spell Scrolls | Comprehend Languages (1315), Clarity of Thought (1319), Astral Spear (1408), Displace (1409), Mana Burst (1414), Astral Vault (1417) are now available on scrolls in the treasure system! Convoke (1435) is also live, but cannot be found on scrolls. |
| Release Date | Category | Project | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06/18/2024 | World | Dwarven Beard Bread | Lore blurb on a dwarven bread style |
| 06/18/2024 | World | Summer Holidays | Lore blurb on Elanthia's summer holidays style |
| 05/22/2024 | World | Order of the Broken Skull | Lore document on the release of the Onar shrine in 2008 |
| 04/19/2024 | Event | Rumor Woods | The Battle of the Beetle and the Spider; Open 4/19/2024 through 5/5/2024 |
| 04/15/2024 | Event | Urchin Guide Movement Messaging | Alternate and custom messaging for urchin guide movements |
| 04/15/2024 | Event | Eternal Wedding Verbs | The fourth tier of wedding verbs, Eternal, available! |
| 03/14/2024 | World | Yasrenila Compound Opens | The Greengair forest gnome compound of Yasrenila is officially open to the public near Ta'Vaalor |
| 04/07/2024 | Event | Rumor Woods Lore | Lore document for RW 2024 - A Tale of Two Gnomes |
| 04/07/2024 | Event | Rumor Woods Customizations | All new customizations (660) for RW 2024 |
| 03/14/2024 | World | Ardenai OBSERVE verb option | Contest for Ardenai cultural verbs live |
| 03/14/2024 | Development | RECOVER LOST | Shortcut to lost and found items |
| 03/14/2024 | Development | TRASH verb | TRASH verb released |
| 03/13/2024 | World | GASP verb styles | 35 GASP verb styles added |
| 03/13/2024 | World | IMITATE verb additions | Seal, Warg, Direwolf, and Pigs Pigs Pigs |
| 03/05/2024 | World | Illistim Culinary Academy Lore | Lore document on culinary academy |
| 02/27/2024 | World | Ta'Ardenai Lore | Lore document on Ta'Ardenai |
| 02/16/2024 | Event | Duskruin Arena | Open 2/16/2024 through 3/9/2024 |
| 02/07/2024 | World | Clockwerke Lore | Mini lore blurb on the term clockwerke |
| 02/03/2024 | Development | Obskruul | A new armament material |
| 02/03/2024 | World | Obskruul Lore | The lore for the new armament material |
| 01/14/2024 | Development | Luck Service | A new profession skill - Bardic luck |
| 01/14/2024 | World | Songstone Lore | A lore blurb on the songstones used for bardic luck |
| 01/12/2024 | Development | Material Rarity | Addition of Material rarity to INSPECT, APPRAISE, and ANALZYE verbs |
| 01/10/2024 | World | River Muagh expansion | A river rafting area to traverse the River Muagh |
| 01/08/2024 | World | Thrakwood Lore | A lore blurb on the thrakwood bush |
| 01/01/2024 | Development | Spell Disabler Review release continues | Updates to a great many disabling spells began rolling out on 12/31/2023. Catch up on the details and discussion on Discord. |
| 01/01/2024 | Development | It's a brand new year! | New year, new changelog page! Check back soon for new changes! |